


Neverwinter University

by Frog_kid



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I don’t know how to do tags, Light Angst, M/M, this is my first fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24775471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frog_kid/pseuds/Frog_kid
Summary: Taako and Lup never planned on going to college at all, and they certainly didn’t plan on living in some old dudes house with 5 other people and upwards of 100 potted plants instead of a dorm.
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans & Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Bureau of Balance & IPRE Crew | Starblaster Crew, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Lup & Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue

Taako and Lup ran away when they were seventeen. Well, that wasn’t completely true. They had run away from several different places several times before as well. But this was the most recent time. 

The road stretched out in front of the old pick up truck. The sun had only just started setting, sending streaks of light sideways through the passenger window. Taako had been driving for hours. Lup had offered to take the wheel several times but he brushed her off. 

Taako glared at the flat, straight pavement in front of them. He felt slightly like he was drowning but he pushed the feeling away. Lup didn’t need to worry. It was pointless, though, she always knew what he was thinking. 

“Taako,” she murmured, her long fingers gently brushed his shoulder to comfort him. Something inside him snapped. 

Taako pulled the car into the grass on the side of the road, his knuckles white as they gripped the steering wheel. Lup didn’t say anything, she knew he would talk when he was ready. Taako’s head dropped onto the steering wheel with a thud and he let out a shaky breath. 

“I’m not going back to that stupid place,” he breathed. Lup shifted in her seat, unbuckling her seatbelt. 

“I don’t think we could if we wanted to anyway,” she agreed. She leaned across the center console and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, her long blonde hair intertwining with his. 

“What are we gonna do? We don’t have jobs, Lup, we don’t have money.” Taako ran his hands over his face. 

“We can find jobs.” 

“All we have is this shitty truck and a stolen laptop, Lup. We can’t even afford to buy ramen how the hell-” 

“Chill babes,” Lup began slowly, “We can live in the truck for a bit while we look for jobs and then find a motel or something.” She always thought things through in a way Taako didn’t. “Then, we can get jobs and save a bit of money and rent one of those little apartments outside of town. We’ve got each other’s backs, it’ll be alright.” She squeezed Taako’s shoulder. He sat up with a sharp breath. 

“What do you wanna do, Lup?” he murmured. She laughed softly. 

“I just told you, dingus,” she said with a small smile. Taako pushed her and smiled back.

“I mean after that. When we’ve got an apartment and a job and a bit of money. What do you wanna do next?” He turned to her and she looked down at her hands in thought. 

He thought she may not answer but after a moment, in a voice barely above a whisper, she replied, “I wanna go to college.”

Taako laughed, high and a bit hysterical, and hugged her back. He buried his face against her shoulder. She stroked his hair gently. 

They sat like that for a while, holding each other in a comforting silence. Taako was the first to break it, murmuring something quietly against Lup’s arm. 

“Hm?” she murmured, tucking a strand of Taako’s hair behind his ear. 

“I wanna go to college too,” he repeated, pulling away slowly. Lup smiled and nodded. 

Taako let out a sharp breath and shifted back into his seat. Lup copied his actions and buckled her seatbelt. They drove back onto the road and continued down the empty street. 

The two of them drove in silence, listening to the old cassette tape that Taako had found in the glove compartment when they bought the truck. It was all music from the 80s. It was about half an hour before either spoke again. 

“You know,” Taako murmured, breaking the quiet. “We have to finish high school before we can even apply for college.” He glanced at Lup out of the corner of his eye. She was looking out the window, deep in thought. 

“Well we’ve been doing online school anyway. We can just finish that and it’ll be fine.” 

Taako nodded vaguely. “I guess. We’ll have to repeat this year though, it’s already summer and we definitely didn’t finish our classes.”

“So we start college a year late. Lots of people do that.” Taako could feel her eyes burning into him but he didn’t look at her. “What’s wrong Koko? Why’re trying to talk yourself out of this?”

Taako sighed, his shoulders slumping forward as he gripped the steering wheel. “I’m just scared, Lulu.” 

“I am too. But we’re together and we’re safe and the whole world is at our fingertips now!” She gave him a cheesy grin and he laughed. 

“That’s the dorkiest thing you’ve ever said,” he complained, shoving her slightly with his elbow. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Lup spoke again. 

“It’s the truth, you know,” she breathed. Taako glanced at her quickly and shrugged. “I mean it,” Lup continued, absently braiding her hair as she spoke. “We can do this. There is literally nothing stopping us.”

“Except money,” Taako pointed out again. 

“Fuck off we’ve made it this far without money.”

Taako snorted. “I guess that’s true.” 

“Of course it is. Now for the love of god please tell me you have a different cassette tape in this car or I’m getting out and walking.”

• • •

Taako and Lup had an apartment by winter. It was small, just a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, but it was theirs. They had sold their truck to get it. They both had jobs and their funds were starting to grow slightly. Lup worked nights at a 24 hour convenience store and Taako worked during the day at a gas station so they didn’t see much of each other. On Saturdays, though, they both got the day off. 

They worked hard on finishing high school and looked for colleges at the same time, hoping to get into a school as soon as possible. 

Taako sat on the floor, leaning against Lup’s legs as she sat on the couch. She braided his hair while they talked. Taako had cut it short while they were traveling and he forgot how nice it felt to have someone play with it. 

“When we go to school...” Taako trailed off. He’d only recently started saying ‘when’ instead of ‘if.’ 

“Hm?” Lup murmured, letting her fingers rest against his back. 

“What’s your major gonna be?” 

She was quiet for a moment. “I… I’m not sure.” Taako turned to look at her. She shrugged and smiled at him. 

“You wanna… help me make dinner?” Taako asked with a grin. Lup poorly concealed her surprise and grinned. 

“Okay!” 

Taako jumped up and pulled her from where she was sitting on the couch. The kitchen was small and they didn’t have many ingredients but they made do. 

They ate their dinner and sat on the floor together, looking on the computer. Taako scrolled through a list of possible majors at nearby colleges. Lup breathed a small gasp as the cursor passed “culinary arts.” Taako looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled. 

“We always wanted to be chefs,” he said, grinning at her. She nodded, smiling back. 

“Ooh there’s a scholarship!” Lup cried, pushing Taako slightly and scrolling further down the page. Taako whistled. 

“Full ride…” 

“We could do it.”

“We’d have to apply separately and both get it.”

“We could do it.” Lup stared sharply at her brother. Taako’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. 

“Okay, okay. We can do it.”

The twins had a goal. They worked tirelessly for the rest of the year, writing and rewriting essays, contacting people they had worked with when they were younger to write references, and getting their diplomas. The days were long and hard but they had no other choice. 

• • •

Their hard work paid off a year later. Both scholarships were awarded to them and they each got personalized letters explaining how excited Neverwinter University was to have them. 

“You were right Lup,” Taako murmured one night, several weeks after receiving their letters. Lup turned to him quizzically. 

“Hm?”

“There’s nothing stopping us.” Lup kicked him as he grinned. 

“You cheesy shit,” she muttered in fake annoyance. But she was smiling too. They had done it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! I’ve never posted a fan fiction before also this has been read over one time since I wrote it so like constructive criticism is welcome this is basically unedited.
> 
> I put ? For number of chapters cause I’m not totally sure but if and when I finish writing this it’ll probably be like 30-40 chapters long. 
> 
> Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!


	2. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins go to orientation! This fic is gonna skip around to different big events so I'm gonna start putting the dates here in the summary. This chapter takes place in about mid-July.

Taako gripped the duffle bag tightly in his hands. He and Lup stood side by side in the crowd of students at orientation. Someone ahead was talking excitedly about the new opportunities they would be exposed to at NU. 

Taako glared up at the dorms. The scholarships had included a discount on the dorm cost, but they still couldn’t afford it. They’d have to find somewhere else to stay that was less expensive. 

The tour was interesting. Lup made friends quickly with several of their group members and somehow Taako got roped into going to dinner with a large group of people. It was the first time in years that they had been around that many people. The food was okay, not nearly as good as Taako and Lup could have made but still not terrible. 

“Hey Koko,” Lup murmured as they were walking back to the dorms they were staying in for the night. 

“Hm?” Taako mumbled sleepily, trudging up the hill behind the larger group of students. 

“Have you thought about where we’re gonna live?” 

“I dunno Lulu. Not on campus obvi, way too expensive even with the scholarship... but definitely not at home either.”

“Ugh yeah, that bus ride was too long to do every day.” 

Taako hummed in agreement and draped his arm around his sister’s shoulders. “We’ll find a place don’t worry. We’ve still got what, like a month?” 

“Yeah you’re right.” She slipped out from under his arm with a grin and turned toward her dorm room. Taako laughed and turned the opposite way to go to his own. 

• • •

Taako leaned against Lup as the speaker droned on at the front of the room. She was taking notes on the schedule management powerpoint while Taako made fun of the speaker in a voice quiet enough that only Lup could hear. 

“Taako shut up,” she murmured into his ear, smacking him with her pencil. 

“Psh, nerd.” Taako slouched in his seat and crossed his arms. 

“Come on why aren’t you taking this seriously?” She nudged him and gave him a worried look. 

“Of course I’m taking this seriously,” Taako quickly murmured, sitting back upright again, “it's not my fault every guy up there has said the exact same boring spiel.” Lup snickered. 

“It’s still important,” she whispered, nudging his arm. He shrugged and turned back towards the stage. 

The rest of the day was just as boring. They went to lectures, ate lunch, went to more lectures, ate dinner, and then had a small break. Taako was ready to head back to the dorm and crash after the break when their orientation leaders suddenly announced a surprise activity: “team bonding.” 

Taako stood in the circle next to Lup as their orientation counselor, Brad, explained the rules. It was a simple game, everyone had to go around the circle and say their name and a fun fact about themselves. The names all got lost in Taako’s head and he wasn’t even sure who was talking until he heard Lup’s bright voice beside him. 

“I’m Lup! I used to work at a circus!” she cried with a grin. There were several interested murmurs from the group and Taako had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. 

“I’m Taako… I have a twin?” Taako couldn’t really care less about this but he knew Lup would have his head if he didn’t at least try to play along. Lup punched him in the arm. 

“You could be a little more creative, dingus,” she murmured as the girl next to Taako began her turn. Taako shrugged and stuck his tongue out at his sister. 

• • •

The morning after orientation was much quieter than the previous mornings. Taako knocked on the door to Lup’s dorm and she sleepily opened it, leaning against the doorframe. 

“Wassup?” she whispered, yawning. Taako smirked. 

“I’m hungry, also we gotta go back home today,” he chuckled. Lup wrinkled her nose and nodded. 

“M’kay… breakfast before packing though.” 

“Of course. Go get dressed, I'm leaving in five minutes.” 

“You wouldn’t leave me.” Lup tried to bat her eyelashes but her eyelids were heavy with sleep and she ended up blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes. Taako snorted. “Shut up,” Lup muttered, closing the door in his face. 

Lup walked down the hall next to her brother. Their faces were nearly identical, Taako’s was a bit more angular and his hair was a shade darker than Lup’s but from a distance they looked the same. 

The main difference was in their clothes, while they were both very fashionable, their styles were complete opposites. Lup wore a tight crop top and high waisted pants that were cuffed at the ankles. Her hair was flowing down over her shoulders and she wore several sparkly bracelets that Taako had given her on their last birthday. 

Taako was wearing an oversized hawaiian shirt tucked into his khaki pants and his hair was pulled back into a messy bun. He wore a surfer necklace made from shells and a hoop earring in one ear. He fiddled with it absently as he spoke. 

“We talked to that girl last night that said the east cafeteria has better eggs than the south cafeteria,” Taako murmured as they walked into the morning sunlight. “So we should go there instead cause cha’boy can’t take any more gross food.” Lup nodded emphatically. 

“That’s chill babe but we still gotta be back by 10 cause the orientation counselors are gonna talk again before we leave,” Lup said, squinting against the bright light. 

“Ugh. Fine.” 

The twins passed the quad, a large grassy field in the middle of campus, and locked eyes with a short man at a table on the edge of it. He waved at them and Taako groaned. Lup nudged him toward the man curiously and Taako, as annoyed as he was to be taken off course for food, followed her. 

“Hello you two!” the man said excitedly. He was short, not reaching five feet, and had a long gray beard with a few leaves in it. His glasses were smudged and his clothes wrinkled. There was a small potted plant sitting on the table beside him. Taako raised an eyebrow at his odd appearance. “I’m Merle!” He held out a small hand towards the twins. 

“Lup,” Lup murmured softly, shaking his hand firmly. Taako did the same, though with a much more careless handshake. 

“Would you two be interested in living in a boarding house?” the man asked them, handing them a flyer. It had a photo of a large house with an address and phone number on the bottom. “I’ve got two beds left and it’s a lot cheaper than any apartment or dorm would be ya know.” 

“Are you allowed to be out here advertising on campus?” Taako asked skeptically. Merle shrugged. 

“I mean no one’s tried to stop me yet and I’ve already seen several people that work here.” 

“How much is rent?” Lup asked quietly, gripping the flyer. 

“Lup…” Taako began but Merle cut him off. 

“120 a month per person. So 240 for both of you!” Merle smiled at them brightly and Taako spun sharply to face him. 

“Yeah, okay, cool, is there some place we can make sure you’re legit and not sketchy as hell before we take you up on that unbelievably good offer?” Taako said, perhaps a bit sharper than he meant to. Merle only smiled. 

“Sure here.” Merle wrote down a renters website on their flyer. “You can check it out and think about it. Just call me on that number when you decide!” 

“Thanks,” Lup murmured. Taako nodded and the twins wandered away from the short man’s table. 

“I think we found our place, Lup,” Taako whispered, making sure Merle couldn’t overhear him. Lup nodded with a small smile, folding the flyer up and slipping it into her pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love Merle a lot okay. 
> 
> I hope you liked it! Please leave me a comment! Once again this is basically unedited so constructive criticism is welcome!  
> Also I'm pretty sure they're a little out of character here it gets better in chapter 3 I'm still learning :)


	3. New Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang's all here!

Merle had said on the phone that everyone was arriving around noon. Taako and Lup stood at the door at 12:15 and listened to the chatter inside. There would be seven people living there for the year. Lup glanced quickly at Taako and knocked on the door. 

The door flew open and a large man filled the entire doorway. He was tall and beefy and had large, scraggly sideburns. 

“Hi!” the man cried excitedly. 

“Uh… hi? Are we at the right place?” Lup asked, looking over the crumpled flyer again. 

“Yes you are,” Merle’s voice said from somewhere behind the large man. “Scoot, kid.” Merle squeezed out of the doorway and gestured Taako and Lup inside. 

It was a homey place, a large living room attached to a nice kitchen with big windows. Every corner had a plant in it. The others had all arrived it seemed, five other people were sitting around on various couches and chairs.

The large man sat down on the floor in front of the chair that a young woman with dark skin and white hair was sitting in. Merle pointed them towards the couch beside a man wearing bluejeans and a white t-shirt. The twins sat down and Merle cleared his throat. 

“Alright you’re all here!” he said with a smile. “I guess we’ll do introductions then? You all know me but just in case you forgot, I’m Merle Highchurch!” He pulled out a sheet of paper and looked over it. “So we’ve got Magnus… Burnsides?” 

“Yup!” the large man said, raising his hand excitedly. 

“Okay… Lucretia?” 

“Hello,” the woman said with a quiet voice, pulling her knees awkwardly to her chest. 

“Davenport? Is there a Davenport here?” Merle grinned mischievously at the older red haired man sitting on a stool. 

“I’ve been here since yesterday, Merle,” Davenport said evenly, his moustache twitching as he tried to hold back a smile. 

“Alright, Sildar-” 

“Oh I-I go by Barry, actually,” the man beside Lup and Taako mumbled awkwardly, pushing up his glasses. 

Lup grinned. “Barry Bluejeans,” she murmued, pointing at his pants. He was the only one in the room wearing denim. 

“Uh…” Barry’s cheeks turned pink. Lup smiled at him kindly. 

“And then Lup and Taako,” Merle said, crumpling his paper and putting it back in his pocket. Lup and Taako waved simultaneously with two crooked smiles. 

“You guys really are identical!” Magnus laughed and Taako kicked him lightly in the arm, sticking his tongue out.

“So we’ve got 2 rooms with 2 beds and the basement left,” Merle explained. “I get my own room ‘cause this is my house, and Dav gets his own room cause he’s an adult and I’ve known him for like 10 years.” Everyone nodded along with Merle’s explanation. “So how do we want to do this? I mean should we go girls with girls and guys with guys?” Taako snorted. 

“I dunno about y’all but that’s not gonna mean anything to me homie I’m gay as hell,” he chuckled.

“Yeah I have a girlfriend already so I don’t care,” Magnus offered. 

“I’m trans,” Lup said with a shrug. 

Everyone looked at each other for a moment before Barry sighed. “I call dibs on the basement, can we just decide so I can go take a nap?” he groaned. Lup cackled and Barry’s face turned red again. 

“Well alright,” Merle huffed goodnaturedly. “Figure it out yourselves then I don’t actually care that much. Just as long as you’re not loud.” 

“I think I’d rather room with a girl…” Lucretia murmured quietly. “I mean no offense to Magnus or Taako I just-” 

“Hell yeah Luce!” Lup jumped up from the couch and held her hands out to Lucretia. Lucretia took them awkwardly and stood up as well. 

“Luce?” Lucretia asked with a small smile. Lup shrugged. 

“No offence taken babe,” Taako murmured with a thumbs up. Magnus nodded happily. 

“Yeah!” he agreed, jumping to his feet. “We get the 2nd floor room though!” Suddenly Taako was being pulled towards the stairs. 

“C’mon lets get settled in,” Lup laughed, tugging Lucretia’s arm gently toward the hallway. 

• • •

Taako stretched out across his bed with a sigh after unpacking all his things. Magnus chuckled from the other side of the room. 

“Why do you have so many blankets?” Magnus asked as he dug through a box beside his bed. 

“Cha’boy runs cold,” Taako muttered, wrapping one of his blankets around his shoulders. Magnus laughed and sat down heavily on his bed, tucking his legs underneath him like a child. 

Magnus picked up a tray off his desk that had a piece of wood and a knife on it. He started methodically whittling away at the piece of wood, holding it over the tray to catch the shavings. Taako sat up and watched him curiously. 

“Are you carving?” he asked, tilting his head toward Magnus. Magnus grinned. 

“Yeah!” he said with a smile. “I’m majoring in sculpture. What about you?”

“Cooking.” Taako pushed himself off the bed and wandered over to Magnus’s. 

“Woah that’s cool. Are you gonna have a restaurant or something?” 

“Yeah or something. What are you making, my man?” 

“A duck I think… It’s the first thing I learned so it’s kind of the easiest.” 

“Ah well you’re wrong there pal,” Taako held up a finger and smiled. “I’m pretty sure a spear would be the easiest thing to carve.” Magnus stared at Taako as he picked up a scrap of wood and filed it down with his fingernail. Once Taako was satisfied with his work he held up the sharpened piece of wood. “See!” he grinned. Magnus howled with laughter as Taako set his sharpened stick back down on the tray.

“I guess!” he cried. Taako grinned and picked up one of the wood shavings off the tray, twisting it in his fingers. 

“Have you had lunch yet, Maggie?” Magnus smiled at the nickname. 

“Nah I only got here like ten minutes before you did.” 

“Well Imma go raid Merle’s fridge, wanna bring your art project down to the kitchen and I’ll make us both something?” 

“Totally!” Magnus jumped up and scrambled to put his tools back on the tray. Taako grinned and wandered down the hall toward the stairs, Magnus chattering excitedly as he followed. 

• • •

Lucretia lined up her books on the desk as Lup threw a bouncy ball at the wall. Lucretia glanced over at her awkwardly and Lup smiled. 

“What’s up Luce?” Lup asked. 

“Oh uhm…I don’t wanna be rude but… is that all the stuff you have?” Lucretia guestured awkwardly to the single box of stuff sitting on Lup’s desk next to one suitcase. 

Lup smiled kindly. “Yeah that’s it,” she murmured. “And I’ve got more stuff than Taako.” She shrugged. 

“You don’t have to answer but… why?” 

Lup thought for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. “Me and Taako have been fending for ourselves for a while, I guess. The only reason we’re even here is ‘cause of scholarships.”

“Mm,” Lucretia nodded sympathetically, looking unsure of what to say. 

“You can unlock the rest of the Tacco twins’ tragic backstory some other time, babe.” Lup pushed herself to a standing position and grinned. “What’s that look for?” 

“I-is Taako’s first and last name the same?” Lucretia asked nervously. 

“Yup,” Lup said, popping the “p.” She patted Lucretia’s shoulder. “Spelled different though. Taako’s name is with a ‘k’ and our last name’s with a ‘c.’”

“A-ah. Huh.” Lucretia smiled, still looking fairly confused. 

Lup started playing on her phone and Lucretia turned back to her desk. She reached down to the side of her desk and pulled out a small, leather bound journal. She picked a specific pen out of a jar she had on the corner of the desk and sat down. She started writing, the pen trailing smoothly across the page. Her writing was very fast and graceful. Lup moved to stand beside her and watched her pen, careful to not accidentally read any of what Lucretia wrote.

“What are you doing?” Lup finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

“Writing,” Lucretia murmured with a small smile. “I’ve already got homework for one of my classes and school doesn’t start till next week.” 

“Creative writing major?” 

“Yeah. What about you?”

“Cooking, me and Taako both are.” 

“Hmm.” Lucretia smiled thoughtfully. “I wish I could cook,” she said suddenly with a sharp laugh. Lup grinned. It was a lovely sound and Lup could tell it wasn’t a sound that was heard often. 

“Hey do you wanna come to the kitchen? I haven’t had lunch yet I’m starving.” 

“Sure!” Lucretia capped her pen and slid it behind her ear. She stood up quickly and followed Lup down the hall. 

• • •

Taako and Lup moved like they were dancing in the kitchen. Lup gracefully ducked under her twin’s arm as he moved a cutting board covered in onions from one table to another. Lucretia and Magnus watched in awed silence. 

“Sandwiches?” Lup murmured, leaning against Taako as she reached down to grab one of the pickle slices he had just cut.

“Mm-yeah,” he hummed with a small nod. “Just something easy.” Lup grinned and spun around to face Lucretia. 

“Luce could you go get the others and ask if anyone wants food?” she asked sweetly. Lucretia nodded. 

“Yeah sure,” she murmured, standing up and wandering down the hall. 

“What kind of sandwich d’you want Maggie?” Taako asked over his shoulder. 

“Anything’s good for me,” Magnus chirped happily, resting his chin on his fist. Taako nodded and turned back around. 

“Where’re you from Mags?” Lup asked, leaning across the kitchen island to look at him. 

“Oh I grew up in a little town called Raven’s Roost! It’s up in the mountains.” 

“I don’t think we ever went there, did we Taako?” 

“Yeah, that one time. We ate those giant turkey legs at the fair and then got sick remember?” 

“Ooh the fair!” Magnus said excitedly. “That place was the best I went there with my foster parents once! I rode all of the spinny rides as many times as I could till I fell on my face.” Magnus grinned, looking proud of himself. Taako snorted.

“I’d be dead before you caught me on any kind of ride at a fair,” he mumbled. “Have you seen how little they take care of them? It’s a fuckin' death wish honestly.” 

Magnus didn’t seem to hear Taako as he continued to tell Lup stories about the Raven’s Roost fair. Lucretia came back in a moment later, followed by an awkward looking Barry. 

“Merle and Davenport are coming too,” Lucretia murmured. Taako nodded and took out several slices of bread. 

As if on cue Merle rounded the corner into the kitchen, followed by Davenport. 

“Who said you could use my food?” Merle muttered, although there was no malice in his voice. Taako grinned. 

“Your mistake in letting us live here, my man!” he said with a sharp laugh. Merle grinned through his beard and sat down on a stool beside Magnus, Lucretia, and Barry. Taako set down seven sandwiches on the counter. “I didn’t use anything that most people are allergic to except for gluten so for future ref who’s got allergies?”

“I’m lactose intolerant,” Barry murmured. Taako nodded. 

“Cool, cool. Anybody else?” Everyone shook their heads and Taako nodded. “Alright then. Cha’boy’s allergic to peanuts just so, ya know, you don’t accidentally poison me or some shit.” 

“We’ll keep that in mind then,” Merle chuckled. Lup leaned her weight against Taako’s side, letting her arm hang loosely around his neck. Taako continued to talk to Magnus softly as the others ate their lunches. 

Lup caught Barry’s eye over Taako’s shoulder. He smiled slightly, his cheeks turning faintly pink. Lup grinned and wandered off toward Lucretia as the seven of them slowly started to finish their food and leave the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! All these guys are fun to write! As always leave a comment and let me know what you think!


	4. Classes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay more characters! This one takes place in late August-early September

Taako was… unprepared, to say the least. Not that he wasn’t expecting hard classes, he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he had hoped at least that he could have classes with Lup. But here he was, sitting in the middle of the second row in a crowded seminar class with no one he recognized. He pulled out the second hand math textbook he had borrowed from Merle (who apparently owned every textbook known to man) and a pencil he had stolen from Magnus. 

The student sitting next to Taako, a tall, skinny man with a short ponytail and thick nerd glasses, looked down at Taako’s book and leaned over to him. 

“Your book is out of date,” the man whispered in a nasally voice. Taako took a deep breath.

“And that’s important why?” he asked in a sarcastic whisper. The man next to him looked almost offended. 

“W-well you’ll get behind in the class if you don’t have the right book!” 

“What’s your name, my man?” Taako asked with a fake smile. 

“Lucas Miller!” the man cried. “I’m one of the top science majors in the school, you haven’t heard of me?” 

“No, see, I’m a freshman.” Taako looked at Lucas knowingly, fully aware that he was sitting in a senior level math class. Lucas’s face lightened.

“You should… You should talk to your advisor about that, you really shouldn’t be in a class this high level your GPA will go down…” 

“Oh no see I asked for this class so I could get math out of the way early on. I don’t even really need this textbook I just brought it with me so I wouldn’t draw attention.” Okay so maybe that wasn’t completely true. Taako did need his textbook, but what’s the harm in taking this dude down a few pegs. 

“O-oh… And who are you?” 

“My name’s Taako. I got that fancy scholarship that they only offer to two people a year? You know the one, right?” 

“Ah of course right. I guess I just assumed cause of your clothes-” 

Taako grinned looking down at the long earrings and obnoxious floral shirt he was wearing. He certainly didn’t match the nerd stereotype as well as Lucas did. “Well I’ve gotta express myself somehow my dude.” Lucas nodded slowly and turned back to his books.

Maybe Taako would have a little bit of fun in this class. 

• • •

Taako wasn’t the only one taking a higher level class. Lup found herself sitting in a small, junior level english class with about 12 other people. Several of the girls had already befriended her. 

A large bodybuilder woman named Killian, a smaller woman with bright blue hair named Carey who was Killian’s girlfriend, and a woman named Noelle who had two prosthetic legs. The three of them had immediately taken to Lup and offered for her to sit at their table. 

“You’ve got to tell me where you get your hair done,” Carey laughed, gesturing to the red tips of Lup’s light blonde ponytail. Lup laughed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“My brother did it. I’m pretty sure he got the dye from walmart. My hair’s just naturally blonde so I don’t have to bleach it. 

“Ah lucky!” Carey cried, “it took me so many tries to get my hair the right color.” 

“Do you work out, Lup?” Killian asked, leaning around Carey. “You look pretty strong you can come to the gym with us at some point if you want.”

“Oh no not really,” Lup laughed, “I just had to do a lot of heavy lifting at my old job that’s all. I’d love to come though!” 

“Where’d you used to work?” Noelle asked softly. 

“Me and my brother worked for a traveling circus for a while so we had to help unload the vans and stuff like that.” 

“I’ve heard those kinds of places suck to work at,” Carey murmured and Lup nodded with a smile. 

“Yeah it wasn’t the best,” she admitted. “We got outta there pretty quick.” 

“I bet. You totally should come to the gym with us though. Me and Kills and Noelle can teach you how to use the equipment if you need help.” 

“I’d love to!” Lup grinned. The four of them exchanged numbers.

• • •

Barry sat in the lab waiting for his teacher. A quiet man who looked too young to be in the class sat beside him reading a book. He was dressed in all black with long dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail. The man looked up from his book and smiled kindly at Barry. 

“I’m Kravitz,” he murmured, holding out his hand. Barry shook it. 

“Barry,” he said. “Uhm... how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“Oh I’m 21,” Kravitz laughed. “I’m not actually a student, I have an internship at the police station. I’ve just been taking some classes I find interesting.”

“So you chose graduate-level chemistry? I’m impressed.” Barry raised his eyebrow and smiled. Kravitz laughed again and rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“I’ve been going to school online so I can start working sooner. It's just hard to take a lab on a computer so I come here to fill those credits.” 

“Makes sense. What do you do at the police station?”

“Well right now I mostly just file papers and work at the front desk but eventually I’d like to be a detective. What about you, you’re a grad student right?” 

“Yeah I’m getting my masters in chemistry. I actually plan on being a lab analyst for the police.”

“You know you only need a bachelor's degree for that right?”

“Yeah I guess I just… wanted to get my masters anyway? That sounds kind of arrogant doesn’t it…” 

Kravitz smiled. “Nah you’re very dedicated. I can put in a good word for you at the station if you’d like, my mom’s the chief.” Barry laughed. 

“That’s very kind, thanks.” Kravitz nodded and turned back to his book. 

• • •

Lucretia, Magnus, Lup, and Taako all shared a class. It was a drawing class they had all chosen to get their art credit finished with. The four of them sat at easels next to each other in the corner. Lucretia sketched in the margins of her syllabus as the professor spoke. Taako leaned over to her.

“Damn Luce you don’t even need to be in this class,” he whispered, pointing to an almost photorealistic drawing of a plant. Lucretia’s cheeks darkened. 

“O-oh thanks,” she murmured. “I just picked up drawing as a kid so I’ve been doing it for a while.” 

“Shh,” Magnus murmured with a finger to his lips. He was taking notes intently. Taako had forgotten that this class was actually part of Magnus’s major. He would have to take it seriously. 

The teacher told everyone to take a piece of paper and draw someone else in the classroom. Magnus and Lucretia already had their own sketchbooks and tore out pieces for Lup and Taako. 

Taako, who didn’t care much about the class, didn’t try very hard. Sure, he knew the basics of drawing, but he didn’t ever get the time or have a reason to practice. Lup was the more artistic twin by far. Taako paired with Lucretia. He drew first and Lucretia sat very still. Taako smiled at her over the top of his paper. 

“You can breathe Luce,” he laughed. Her shoulders dropped slightly and she gave him a small smile. “So what’s your major then?” Taako asked her. 

“Writing,” she said, a bit dreamily. “I’d like to make those little journals you always find in bookstores with drawings of plants and animals and they’re written in a typewriter font and they’re so lovely to sit and read and…” she trailed off, her cheeks darkening again. “Sorry, that was very specific.”

“That sounds nice. I’ve never really been to a bookstore just to look around. I always just go in and find whatever I need and go.” He didn’t look at her while he spoke, he suddenly felt compelled to try a bit harder with his drawing. 

“I’ll have to take you with me sometime. I’ve never been to any of the book stores here in Neverwinter so we can explore together.” She smiled hopefully and Taako grinned. 

“Totally,” he murmured. “Okay, done!” He turned around his sketchbook. It wasn’t amazing but the drawing was definitely recognizable as Lucretia. 

“I love it!” she said, clapping her hands together with a smile. Taako shrugged, secretly grateful for the praise. 

Lup had finished her portrait of Magnus at about the same time as well. It was cartoony and there was a sun drawn behind his head. He loved it. 

Taako switched places with Lucretia, watching Lup and Magnus doing the same. Lucretia’s drawing was perfect as Taako expected. She perfectly captured his nonchalance. Magnus’s drawing of Lup wasn’t very good but Lup was thrilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucretia's conversation with Taako about the nature journals is definitely not a conversation I've had in real life aha what are you talking about... 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> (Also Kravitz and the Raven Queen are police because like Kravitz is literally a death cop anyway just a PSA these cops are chill cause its my universe and I said so but like real life cops? We don't support)


End file.
